


Five Times Bucky Was Awkwardly Overprotective of Natasha Plus One Time She Was Awkwardly Overprotective of Him

by Dorkangel



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Between Nat and Bucky, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Remembers, Epic Bromance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Natasha Feels, Natasha Romanov Has Issues, Natasha-centric, Protective Avengers, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Natasha, Steve Rogers and the 21st Century
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-23
Updated: 2015-02-23
Packaged: 2018-03-14 16:23:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3417428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dorkangel/pseuds/Dorkangel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From this prompt at LiveJournal: http://avengerkink.livejournal.com/20598.html?thread=49380982#t49380982</p><p>Basically, they were asking for Bucky being overprotective of Natasha, despite the fact that she is perfectly badass on her own, and some ex-brainwashed-assassin-bro feels.<br/>So, I wrote a fix with protective assassin feels.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Times Bucky Was Awkwardly Overprotective of Natasha Plus One Time She Was Awkwardly Overprotective of Him

**Author's Note:**

> Not my best.

1\. She doesn't know why he does it. She's survived on her own for a long time, she's a perfectly capable adult, and now she's part of a team that frequently saves the whole world, not to mention Clint keeping an eye out for her. That's not very helpful, though, because honestly nine times out of ten it's her rescuing Clint.  
All this adds up to, really, is a whole lot of confusion about why the hell Bucky Barnes thinks it's necessary to snipe anything that evens looks at her funny.  
She doesn't think the others even notice, because there's bullets flying everywhere and alien parts being thrown all over the place, but she does. It's appreciated, but still. Natasha knows how to take care of herself, whereas Tony is currently being swamped by what looks like a sentient pudding with teeth.  
"Barnes!" she yells, more than a little frustrated. She had a knife to that one's throat, for god's sake, it was the opposite of necessary for Bucky to shoot it. "Kill the one that's trying to eat Tony, and leave me the hell alone!"  
He blushes behind his mask, and there's a rain of bullets to the left, leaving her to elbow the next one in the face by herself.  
Good.

Later, they don't mention it, but she punches him on the shoulder and he punches her back, more gently.  
"I'm not made of glass, Buck." she reminds him, and he shrugs.  
"Just trying to make sure you're ok, Tasha."  
"Well, don't."  
Natasha leaves it at that, and goes off to have coffee with Pepper. She's a couple of hours late, and covered with alien blood, but she's pretty sure Pepper'll still let her have coffee. She needs it.

2\. "Captain Rogers!" calls a reporter, intercepting them as they walk into Stark tower, and she resists the urge to roll her eyes. "Captain. Do you really think it's appropriate to have a woman on the team? Isn't it a little... distracting?"  
He must be really dense, not to notice the way everyone's expressions go cold and stony, but he sure notices the total rage on Bucky's face as the ex-assassin grabs the mic off him before Steve can answer.  
"Listen, mister," he begins, barely concealed fury in his tone, and she and Steve wince in synchronisation. Any time Bucky begins a sentence with 'Listen, mister', it means trouble. "What'd be inappropriate would be if any guy here was dull enough to think with his penis, which apparently you do. Nat- Miss Romanov is one of the best agents we got, and the fact that she's a dame doesn't make one shot of difference. Got it?"  
The reporter nods, trembling, as Bucky shoves his microphone back at him, and they head inside.  
"Nice one." she hears Steve say to Bucky. "Peggy'd be proud."  
"Wasn't doing it for Peggy."  
She pauses a moment at that, and then shakes her head. Barnes is ridiculous, and she should know that by now.

3\. It was her birthday yesterday. That's a secret only she knows - no one, not even HYDRA, or Clint, or SHIELD, knows her birthday. The year she was born, yeah, but not the day. That's private - and so she is definitely not expecting a present to be laid out on her bed.  
At least Stark doesn't know, she consoles herself, blinking off the shock. If he did, there would be a huge party. Probably with strippers.  
You told me when you were ten, whispers the label, almost apologetically. I remembered a few days ago. Maybe if I'd done more to protect you back then, you wouldn't be here. You might have a normal life.  
He feels guilty; she knows that. None of... what was done to her ...was his fault, and it was 100% not his fault that he was strapped down, frozen or brainwashed, and unable to stop the people hurting her, but he seems to think it is. Maybe that's why he insists on acting like an older brother all the time.  
It's annoying, but somehow sweet.  
And then she opens the box, and sighs.

"James Buchanan Barnes! For the last time, I do not need more emergency grenades! Or a rocket launcher!"  
There's a thud as the box - not the weapons, she's not dumb - hits his door, and then he sticks his head out, all sheepish, guilty eyes.  
"Nothing wrong with grenades, Tasha."  
He ducks back behind the door just in time to avoid the throwing star she keeps in her boot.

4\. In fairness, Natasha started this one. Steve has to get used to modern conventions and boundaries somehow, and her wandering into the living room with nothing but a bra on her top half (she's wearing pants, jeez, it's not like she's naked) is certainly one way to shock him into the twenty first century. Plus, the way he goes red and stares at the floor is hilarious.  
"Um, Nat," he stammers as she collapses between Bucky and Clint on the couch, resting her head on the former and draping her feet over the lap of the latter. "Shouldn't you be, um, wearing a shirt?"  
She raises an eyebrow daringly at him. "Why? You uncomfortable, soldier?"  
She's just joking, of course, and Clint smiles and leans forward to kiss her on the cheek.  
Unfortunately, Bucky takes it a little more seriously.  
"Come on, Steve. I'm not wearing a shirt, what's so bad about Nat in her bra?"  
"I..." Steve's already regretting saying it, but he's still flushing. "It's different-"  
"How is it?" he demands. "She's wearing more than me."  
It's hard not to smile. If Natasha wanted to, she could have this argument herself. If she wanted to, she could probably drive every grown man in this room to tears with a few sentences. It's funny to let Bucky do it, though.  
"Ladies-"  
"Ladies have slightly different anatomy. That offend you, Stevie? I thought you were meant to be Mr Justice and Liberty?"  
"I, um, right." He's still red, but determined to be just as politically correct as Bucky. "Sorry, Natasha."  
Bucky nods, satisfied, and she smirks.  
"'Sides," says Clint. "You've got lovely boobs."  
Bucky glares at him, and she has a feeling they're going to have a little conversation at some point.

5\. The conversation is had late at night, when Clint walks into his room and turns the light on to find an assassin with a metal arm sitting in his chair.  
"Jesus!"  
"No, just me."  
At least he can laugh while he's being murdered, he consoles himself.  
"If this is a shovel talk, Natasha already covered it."  
Bucky raises an eyebrow. "Really? What'd she say?"  
"'If you ever hurt me, I'll hit you with a shovel, and then throw you off a building'."  
He grins, approving. "Yup. That's not what I'm here for, though."  
"What is it?"  
Bucky hesitated, and then his brow furrowed slowly. "She hates nuts, but she'll eat them and not say a word. Same with pears."  
"What-"  
"Stroking her hair makes her feel safe, and sleeping in handcuffs makes her panic."  
"How do you-"  
Bucky waved it off. "I just know, ok? And you two are together, so you should know too. And," he flinches slightly. "Just never ask her when she lost her virginity."  
Clint nods and sits down to listen. 

If Natasha notices that he suddenly knows all her triggers and how to avoid them, she stays quiet. And if she gentles her blows with Bucky in training, that's her own business.

+1. The televised governmental interrogation was inevitable, apparently, what with Bucky's history. Luckily Tony had warned them about what to expect.  
He'd chosen Natasha to accompany him, instead of a lawyer. It seemed only right.

"So, you're denying that you have murdered over three hundred people in cold blood?" demands the senator leading the debate.  
"No," he replies reasonably, trying to keep a level head. "I did a lot of questionable things-"  
"James Barnes did what he did under torture, the threat of further torture, and without knowing he was doing it." interrupts Natasha. "They wiped his personality and his memories clean out of his head; the man who shot at me in D.C. is not the man sitting next to me today."  
"Have you got any evidence of this so-called 'torture'?" sneers the politician, receiving scathing looks from both Nat and Bucky and the men and women around him.  
"A simple medical overview would suffice." cuts a stuffy female senator, earning a grateful glance from Natasha.  
"Plus the fact that his entire arm was cut off," she adds, in a snarl. "And that he was repeatedly frozen, risking brain damage, and experimented on against his will. If you want to insinuate that we're lying one more time, we're going to walk out."  
The security men at the door twitch uncomfortably, well aware that Natasha could probably take them out all by herself, with a hand tied behind her back.  
"Bucky Barnes was a prisoner of war," she finishes, not quite as strongly as her other statement. "And he should be treated as such."  
Slowly, but surely, people begin to clap, and he clutches her hand under the table.  
Maybe he likes to forget it, but they went through the same thing, almost. If she needs protecting and looking after, then he does too.


End file.
